


Once a Hero

by Ekokai



Series: Welcome Home, Jarod [3]
Category: The Pretender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2014-07-07
Packaged: 2018-02-07 19:34:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1911141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ekokai/pseuds/Ekokai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Months after his second escape from The Centre, Miss Parker and Broots run a 'Pretend' of their own to avenge Jarod after his luck runs out in a small town.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Once a Hero

Landers, Iowa  
11:00 PM

Miss Parker slammed the heavy metal door open and glanced up the stairwell before turning and heading down to the next landing. She could hear Jarod taking the steps two at a time below her and wondered, not for the first time, where the hell her sweeper team was. 

She had spotted Jarod five minutes ago and had been chasing him from floor to floor in this deserted office building ever since. He, of course, had the advantage since he'd been working here as head of security for the last month and knew the layout intimately. Miss Parker was determined that this was going to be her last chase.

She heard the fire door open below her and slam shut behind Jarod as he exited into the parking garage. A few seconds later, she too emerged into the garage, weapon drawn, and stopped to get her bearings.

The large concrete structure had three vehicles; a pickup truck, Jarod's rental car, and the limo that she and Sydney had arrived in. Sydney. Where was he? The last time she had seen him was right before Jarod had spotted her and taken off running. She would have to find him later. Right now she had a clear view of the exit ramp to the street at the opposite end of the garage and there was no way Jarod had made it that far before she arrived. Besides the three vehicles, the huge support pillars offered more than enough cover if he was hiding down here. 

"Jarod? I know you're down here. Let's make this easy and you won't get hurt," she called out into the nothingness. The only response she got back was a faint, muffled echo of her own voice.

She started walking further into the dimly lit garage, pausing to look behind pillars and in several recessed areas along the wall. When she was twenty feet away from the limo she bent down and looked underneath to see if Jarod was hiding behind it.   
When she didn't see his feet she crept up to the back door and carefully took hold of the handle. It was times like this when she wished she had a normal car without the blackened windows. For all she knew, Jarod was inside, watching her and waiting.

Her breathing quickened and she tightened her grip on her weapon as she prepared to yank the door open and confront her objective.

"One, " she whispered to herself, "two......thr -"

"What are you doing?" Came a loud whisper from a foot behind her.

Miss Parker jumped and swung around, raising her gun and coming face to face with --"Sydney, damn you! You scared the hell out of me!"

She leaned back against the car as Syd reached out and carefully aimed the gun away from his face.

"I should shoot you just for fun," she told him angrily, still trying to calm down.

"You already did that," Sydney reminded her, amused that he had managed to scare her. Usually that was her job.

"Where the hell did you come from? Why did you sneak up on me?"

"I did not sneak up on you," he informed her politely. "You were not paying attention."

"I was tracking Jarod down here and....." she stopped in mid-argument and swung around, raising her gun again. "Shh! Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" He asked in a loud stage whisper that earned him a dirty look.

He squinted into the black recesses of the room in the direction she was pointing and could barely make out a dark figure standing motionless against the far wall.

"Jarod?" he whispered very softly.

Miss Parker nodded her head. He was only ten feet away from the ramp. If he chose to make a run for it now she would have to put a slug in his leg to stop him. Once on the street he would disappear into the night like a retreating fog.

Sydney found himself becoming excited at the prospect of getting Jarod back to the Centre. None of the other residents they had were of interest to him anymore. Also, with Jarod safely home, he wouldn't have to worry about Miss Parker hunting him down on her own and possibly killing him in the process.

Miss Parker knew that Jarod was aware she could see him. She tried to imagine what he must be thinking. She was certain he was calculating the odds of making a clean getaway, wondering if she had the guts to shoot him or if she would miss on purpose like in Miami.

She saw him take a step toward the door and then suddenly break into a run. She raised her gun and yelled his name as she took aim at his right leg and squeezed the trigger. 

As she called his name, Jarod turned toward her for a split second. In that same instant, he heard Sydney scream at her not to shoot and his hand came up from under hers and knocked the gun in the air as the bullet left the chamber.

She was still focused on Jarod and watched him duck as the bullet smashed into the concrete wall where his head had just been. He didn't look back as he dashed up the short ramp and disappeared into the night.

Jarod ran from the garage and jumped into a cab that was just being vacated by an elderly couple in front of their apartment building.

"Good evening, folks. This rides on me," he told them as he dropped a fifty dollar bill in the cabby's lap.

Jarod pulled the door closed and told the driver to get going as he slumped down in the seat. As the cab pulled away Jarod resisted the urge to see if he was being followed.

 

Landers United Bank  
The Next Morning

Jarod glanced around the bank as he stood in line for the indoor ATM. There were a handful of customers waiting for tellers and a few sitting with loan officers at private desks. He watched one of the employees rise awkwardly from her chair to shake hands with her customer before the man headed toward the vault where the safety deposit boxes were. 

The ATM customer finished up and Jarod quickly made his transaction, conscious of the fact that he had just tipped off the Centre as to his location.

Jarod turned around and almost bumped into the woman he had been watching earlier.

"I thought you left town already," she told him as she took hold of his hand. "I'm glad I ran in to you again."

Jarod smiled and squeezed her hand.

"Sandra, why aren't you home with Todd? I thought you decided not to work until this little guy came," Jarod told her as he looked pointedly at her protruding stomach. 

Sandra laughed and placed her free hand on her unborn son.

"You sound like Todd. I have two weeks yet and the doctor said it was okay to work part-time until I decided to stop. Besides, now that I don't have to worry about Todd losing his job, thanks to you, I can take it easy here instead of doing all that overtime."

Jarod was pleased that his actions had saved his new friends a lot of trouble but he knew they still had a big problem with money. Well, they did until the next time they checked their savings account.

The man Sandra had helped earlier came out of the deposit box vault and headed for her desk. Sandra glanced over at him then turned to Jarod.

"Duty calls. Will I be seeing you again?"

Jarod shook his head. 

"I doubt it. I'm on my way out of town right now. I just wanted to say good-bye."

He leaned down and kissed her cheek as she gave him a hug.

"Thank you, Jarod. We won't forget you." She hurried off to help her customer as Jarod turned to leave. 

He was a few feet from the door when a scream echoed through the bank. Jarod swung around, searching for the source of the cry. Toward the back of the bank the customer that Sandra had been helping had her in a choke hold and a gun was pressed to the side of her head.

"Nobody move or you can say good-bye to the lady!"

He looked over at Jarod who was closest to the door.

"You. Lock those doors and get away from them," he ordered.

Jarod quickly did as he was told, intent on not making the gunman irate. After locking the doors Jarod made his way into the room and edged as close to the pair as he could before the robber noticed him.

"Close enough. Don't be a hero."

"Let her go, she's going to have a baby," Jarod told the man softly, trying to calm him down. 

Jarod could feel the man's desperation and anger. It poured out of him, filling the room. At the same time he was being overwhelmed with fear from Sandra. He could almost taste it. Jarod closed his eyes and cleared his mind, trying to focus on the man.

"I don't want to hurt her but I will. I want everyone over on that side of the room," he gestured with his gun.

The dozen or so men and women ran for the far wall as directed, avoiding eye contact with their captor. One man stayed behind and pulled a gun from under his jacket. The robber had an accomplice. Jarod didn't move.

"Problem, Hero?" 

"Let her go," Jarod requested softly, his voice deep and soothing. He took a step forward but stopped abruptly when the man tightened his grip on his weapon.

"And lose my hostage? No way."

Jarod could tell the gunman was becoming agitated with him so he tried to keep him off balance with another request.

"Take me."

"Why? No cop is going to try and take me out with a pregnant woman in front of me."

"She's going to slow you down. Take me and you'll get out of here easier. You don't want to hurt the baby."

"I don't give a damn about her or the kid," the man snarled in Sandra's ear.

Jarod felt as if he'd been slapped. This man was telling the truth. He would kill Sandra and the baby without a second thought. Jarod couldn't let that happen. He glanced at the second man who was cleaning the cash from the tellers' drawers. He was almost finished.

"Look, I can help you if you let her go."

"How?"

"I can carry the money and I'm bigger than she is. I'll make a better shield," Jarod reasoned with him. He could see he was starting to make an impression.

Jarod had avoided looking into Sandra's eyes but he couldn't help himself. She was silently begging him not to do it, tears cascading down her cheeks. Jarod struggled to give her a reassuring look but he was fighting to gain some control over the situation. 

He also had another problem. Miss Parker and Sydney were still in the area and he had just used his bank card. Broots had probably already tracked his location. For all Jarod knew, there were sweeper teams on the way. Weren't they going to be surprised?

The man collecting the cash tried to jump over the teller counter but couldn't make it because he was too short. Jarod heard a quickly muffled burst of nervous laughter from the other hostages and in his mind he named the second robber, Shorty.

"We have cops out there," Shorty informed everyone as he looked out the glass doors then headed back toward his partner.

"Are we taking the broad or not?" He asked impatiently, retrieving his weapon from his waistband.

The man holding Sandra could feel her shaking. It was a good bet that she would either pass out on him or go into labor before they got away. He looked at Jarod and weighed his options.

"Okay, Hero, you win," he told Jarod as he motioned for him to come closer and turn around.

"We're leaving and you're going first. You better hope nobody gets in our way because if they do, you'll be the first one to know it."

Jarod felt the muzzle of the gun press into his back and found himself relieved at the touch. At least if it was pointed at him, Sandra and the baby were safe.

"Put your hands behind your head and lace your fingers. No funny stuff. You," he called to a female customer. "Go unlock the doors and go outside. Tell the cops we're coming out in 2 minutes with a hostage and if they don't want to see him splattered on the sidewalk they'll let us through."

The woman nodded and ran for the doors. It only took her a second to get them unlocked. As she stepped outside she was grabbed by a police officer and dragged off to tell her story.

Jarod stood quietly running simulations in his head, looking for a way to end this without bloodshed. He determined the safest solution would be for him to leave with these men and to escape once they were on the road.

Shorty looked at his watch and glanced around the bank on last time. He was very uneasy about leaving so many witnesses alive, but that's the way his partner wanted it. He wished he could see the looks on the cop’s faces when they tried to view the security tape and found a Donald Duck cartoon in its place. That had been a stroke of genius on Carters' part. Shorty caught  
Carter's eye and nodded. Time to go.

Carter nudged Jarod in the back with his gun and the three of them started toward the door. As they passed by a large, indoor tree, Shorty noticed Jarod's Halliburton sitting on the floor and remembered seeing him with it.

"Hey, Hero? Is that yours?" Shorty asked, pointing to the silver case. Jarod glanced at it quickly. He was hoping to leave it there. Sandra knew it was Jarod's and would safeguard it until he returned. Now he wished he had left it in the apartment while he ran this last errand, but he had wanted at least that with him if he had to make a quick escape.

Jarod shook his head and kept walking toward the door. "Nope, never saw it before."

He felt the gun dig hard into his back and stopped. Shorty picked up the case and stood in front of Jarod.

"I saw you come in with it. What's in there, huh? Money, jewels, what?" 

"It's just a laptop," Jarod lied casually. "Nothing important."

"Good. Then you won't mind if we bring it along for the ride," Shorty assumed as Carter gave Jarod a shove forward.

Jarod walked out into the intense noonday sun and squinted while his eyes adjusted. He quickly ran an image of the two robbers through his mind and realized neither of them were wearing sunglasses. If he couldn't see anything, chances were neither could they.

He was about to bolt and run when his vision cleared enough to see two figures standing by a black sedan across the street. He wondered what kind of story they had given the cops to get this close to the action. Jarod knew he had hesitated a second too long when he felt the familiar press of a weapon in his back.

"Show time," Carter hissed behind Jarod. He grabbed the back of Jarod's shirt and guided him toward a white four-door that was parked by the curb. Jarod counted five police cars, this town’s entire force, with six officers, Sydney and Miss Parker. He was fairly certain that the cops were going to allow the men to escape with their hostage instead of engaging in a shootout. Jarod bet Miss Parker was dying to draw her weapon and pick off the man carrying the DSA's. He could almost feel her excitement from here.

Just as Jarod suspected, they were allowed to get in the car and pull away from the populated area before the officers engaged the chase. It was only a few miles to the edge of town, and at the speed they were traveling it would only take a minute or so to get there.

Jarod felt the car's left wheels lift off the ground as they made a sharp right turn at the next intersection. He glanced at the speedometer and saw they had taken the corner doing 45 mph. It was a miracle they were still upright.

The chase continued out of town and onto a winding country road that ran alongside a slow moving river. Five squad cars and Miss Parker were hot on their tail when the driver had a brilliant idea.

"I think it's time we lost a few of those cops," he yelled back to Shorty.

Shorty looked around seeing nothing but trees and water. 

"Where?"

"Just up ahead as we come to the bridge."

"I hope you're ready to aide in our escape, Hero," Shorty told Jarod as he pointed the gun at his head.

Jarod looked down the barrel of the weapon. He was glad it was him instead of Sandra. Nobody was going to miss him, but he knew Todd would have died without his wife and son.

Jarod was waiting for the shot when he realized Shorty had spoken to him again.

"I said get ready to jump, Hero," Shorty repeated.

Jarod looked outside and could see a narrow bridge coming up. He looked at the speedometer again and saw they had slowed to 38 miles per hour.

"I'll be killed if I jump," Jarod told him unnecessarily.

"You can jump or I can put a bullet in your head and push you out but you are going. Make up your mind. You have three seconds."

Jarod had already calculated the odds of his survival and they increased dramatically without a bullet in his head. 

He grabbed onto the door handle and popped it open a few inches. The wind fought to keep the door closed and Jarod quickly wound down the window to decrease the resistance as he pushed it open farther and prepared to jump.

He was watching the ground zip by and decided there wasn't going to be a 'good' way to do this.

"Time to go, Hero," Shorty yelled as he planted his feet in Jarod's back and shoved him out of the car as it came up to the bridge.

Jarod didn't have time to react before he slammed into the ground and began to flip over and over. He barely had time to register the searing pain from multiple fractures before his head hit the ground and he landed in the river as the thieves passed over the bridge above him. 

Jarod heard the bubbles being formed in the water as the air in his lungs escaped unchecked. It hadn't occurred to him to hold his breath when he hit the water and he found he was unable to turn over on his back so he could breathe. As the water entered his mouth and nose, he wondered if Sydney would find some way to let Jarod's parents know that their son was dead.

 

In the sedan Miss Parker and Sydney both yelled in shock as they saw Jarod strike the ground and bounce into the river. Miss Parker hit the brakes and slid to a stop behind two of the patrol cars. By the time she and Sydney got to the riverbank there were two officers in the slow moving current trying to reach Jarod who was floating face down in several feet of water.

Sydney watched anxiously as an officer finally grabbed Jarod and carefully turned him on his back before pulling him to shore. His legs were still in the water when Sydney and an officer began CPR while another held Jarod's head and neck still in case of a spinal injury.

Miss Parker took a step forward and felt her knees start to buckle as she got a good look at Jarod. His left forearm was obviously broken, bent at an unnatural angle. The left side of his face was scraped and swollen and he was bleeding from various parts of his battered body. 

She was counting along with the rescuers as they did the chest compressions. After the sixth repetition they stopped and turned Jarod on his side as he coughed up a large amount of river water and began breathing on his own.

In the distance was the welcome sound of sirens as an ambulance made its way to the scene.

 

Sydney stood back as Jarod was carefully transferred from the gurney to the bed. A nurse adjusted the various tubes and wires and checked the monitors before acknowledging the existence of visitors.

"The doctor will be in shortly to discuss the outcome of the tests," she stated simply before turning to leave.

"That's all you can tell us," Miss Parker asked in amazement. "Wait? You've had him down there for five hours, we have been waiting."

The nurse shrugged her shoulders and walked away as Sydney slumped down in a chair by the bed.

Miss Parker wandered over to Jarod's side and looked him over for the hundredth time. She was still amazed that he wasn't dead, even if he looked like he should be.

The bandage around his head extended down over his left eye and most of the left side of his face. She knew what was under the bandages; raw skin, a corneal abrasion that would heal itself, and massive bruising. She couldn't believe how much blood someone could lose from a head wound. She had been certain he was going to bleed to death before they made it to the  
hospital.

Miss Parker continued her assessment of his injuries, her eyes resting briefly on the cast on Jarod's left arm that went from his fingertips to just under his shoulder. That arm had taken most of the impact when he had initially hit the ground. Her gaze lingered on his bare chest which was badly bruised and she knew he had sustained broken ribs that had not yet been taped. Doctors had spent most of the day stabilizing him and the ribs were considered a minor inconvenience compared to the rest of his injuries. She bet Jarod wouldn't think so if, no...when, he woke up. The other bumps, bruises and contusions would take care of themselves.

She reached out and ran her fingers lightly alongside the undamaged side of his face, remembering the last time she had seen him in a hospital bed. It was pretty apparent there wasn't going to be a repeat of that little incident this time.

"Well, let's see how our patient is doing," the doctor announced loudly as he entered the room. He was flipping through a chart as he approached the bed then looked at Jarod. "He looks like crap, doesn't he?"

Miss Parker and Sydney looked at each other then back at the doctor.

"Is that your professional opinion?" Sydney asked dryly.

The doctor smiled and looked at the chart again. "Sorry. I've been up for over 35 hours and I'm on a coffee high. I thought a little levity might help."

"Think again," Miss Parker hissed through clenched teeth. The doctor wiped the smile from his face and got down to business as Sydney came to stand with them alongside the bed.

"Okay, well, it looks like the MRI came back fine. He has a severe concussion but he is not in a coma. No spinal injuries......broken arm, five ribs, hairline fracture in his right leg but that won't even need a cast. The scrapes on his face look bad now but will heal just fine on their own as will his eye. We put in eight stitches to close the head wound and he is on a full course of antibiotics to kill anything he might have picked up in the river."

The doctor looked up and smiled. "He was very lucky."

Miss Parker looked at him like he had just sprouted horns and a tail.

"Oh yeah, he's really lucky all right," she sneered, turning her back on the man.

Sydney glanced at her to try and shut her up then reached over and shook the doctor’s hand.

"Thank you for explaining that to us, Doctor. When can we expect Jarod to wake up?"

"It could be any time. When he does wake, make sure you call a nurse and she'll page me. We'll need to run a few more tests when he's conscious. I'll let you know."

With that he turned and hurried from the room, leaving Miss Parker staring after him in disgust. She turned and looked at Sydney.

"That man is a moron," she told him seriously. "There must be something we can do besides sit and wait."

Sydney smiled in sympathy. Waiting had never been something she was good at.

"Why don't I stay here with Jarod and you can go explore his last lair and see what booby-traps he left for you. That always makes you feel better."

His plan was to bait her into an argument to get her mind off the doctor, but Sydney's words set off a little alarm in her head.

"That's right, the lair. I almost forgot. Maybe he was mixed up with those bank robbers and that's why they took the DSA's. Safekeeping."

Sydney didn't bother to hide his laughter or curb the first thought that popped out of his mouth.

"Are you insane? They almost killed him. This was not a plan to keep us from the DSA's."

Miss Parker thought it over for a minute and decided Syd was right. Jarod had pulled a lot of stunts over the last year, but he never did anything like this.

"Okay," she reluctantly agreed, "I'll go see what torture device rat-boy left for me this time, but don't let him out of your sight."

"Do you think he's going to leave?"

"With Jarod, you never know," she admitted.

"Don't worry, Miss Parker. I wouldn't leave Jarod's side if God himself told me to."

 

Jarod wandered through the woods admiring the various plants and trees that nature had so thoughtfully provided for him. The camping trip had been a great idea and he was enjoying himself immensely. He pushed through some brush and found himself on a hill overlooking a sparkling blue lake. The sun was warm and there was the slightest breeze from the west. He sat down in the grass and watched the ripples on the water and listened to the birds chirping overhead. 

He laid back in the grass and smiled, quite pleased with himself. This was perfect. A perfect day, a perfect lake, nobody chasing him. The only thing that would make this even more perfect would be if the bird in the tree next to him would stop making that goofy noise. While all the other birds chirped and sang, this one sounded like it was beeping. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Jarod opened his eyes and looked around. The lake and woods were gone and so was that perfect day he'd been having. In its place was a throbbing, head-to-toe pain. He tried to see where he was, but was having trouble looking to his left. He closed his eyes again and opened them, realizing that his left eye seemed to be covered with something.

He tried to raise his left hand to see what was wrong, but his arm felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Jarod cautiously turned his head and saw the source of his goofy bird. Hospital equipment. He turned his head to the right and got another surprise; Sydney was sleeping in a chair beside the bed.

Jarod tried to remember why he was here, but the images were hazy at best. There was apparently only one way to find out what happened. He opened his mouth to wake Sydney, but was instead was jolted into total consciousness with a fit of coughing. That was when he discovered he had broken ribs.

Sydney was on his feet before he was fully awake. As soon as he heard the coughing followed immediately by groans of intense pain, he knew Jarod was in trouble. 

As Jarod tried to stop coughing, he writhed in agony on the bed, trying to control the pain in his chest with his good arm. Sydney grabbed an extra pillow and quickly placed it over Jarod's rib cage and held it tight, restricting the movement of the damaged bones.

Jarod gasped in relief as Sydney applied pressure and in a few moments the coughing stopped too. He lay still, taking shallow breaths and willing the pain to subside. When Jarod finally began to relax, Syd removed the pillow and tossed it back on the chair.

"I'll make sure those ribs are taped immediately," Sydney assured Jarod. "How are you feeling?"

"I hurt," Jarod responded truthfully, his voice raspy. "Why do I hurt so much?"

Typical of Sydney, he asked a question instead of answering.

"What do you remember?"

"If I remembered I wouldn't have asked," Jarod told him irritably. He tried to lift his left hand again then strained to see why it wouldn't move. He looked at Sydney out of his one good eye and waited for an explanation.

"First," Syd began, pulling up a chair, "let me assure you that you are going to be just fine. You can't see it, but your left arm is in a cast. That's why you can't move it. You have a bad concussion, stitches, scrapes and bruises and, of course, the broken ribs."

"Why is my eye covered?" Jarod asked, dreading the answer.

"Just a small abrasion." Sydney promised him. "They want to keep the light out for a few days then it will be good as new."

"You're sure?"

Sydney started to say 'Have I ever lied to you', but caught himself.

"Yes, I'm sure."

Jarod relaxed visibly. He wanted to ask for drugs for the pain, but didn't want to have his mind clouded. On the other hand, he couldn't escape if he tried so there was no reason to suffer needlessly. 

Sydney was already on the phone calling a nurse and he instructed her to bring a painkiller and page the doctor. When he turned back, Jarod was asleep.

 

Miss Parker picked the lock and opened the door to Jarod's latest home, patting the wall behind the door until she found the light switch. There was no way she was going exploring without being able to see all the diabolical traps Jarod might have left.

The studio apartment was clean and it looked like Jarod had been only minutes from leaving town. The red notebook from his last 'job' was waiting on the breakfast bar along with Jarod's fake ID, and a travel bag and laptop were sitting on the bed.

Parker opened the bag and dumped it onto the bed before checking out the contents. A couple changes of clothes, toothbrush, pocket radio, four pez dispensers and fifteen packs of pez. She shook her head in disgust.

"Have you ever heard of a salad?" She asked of Jarod to the empty room.

Picking up the computer, she opened it and turned it on. As she waited for it to finish the startup, she stuffed Jarod's things back in his bag. When she got to the pez dispensers, one in particular caught her eye. Casper. She had given this to Jarod the last time she had captured him, and only a few minutes before he had escaped yet again.

She'd never forget waking up in the Blue Cove Hospital and having the chopper pilot tell her Jarod had escaped. They found the helicopter at the Dover Airport but there was no sign of Jarod for weeks afterward. That was five months ago and they had missed him three times since then.

Miss Parker tossed Casper into the bag and zippered it up before setting it by the door. Turning back to the computer she saw it was ready to go just as soon as she --

"Enter password? Damn it!"

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, quickly dialing a familiar number. The call was answered on the first ring.

"You have until 9 am to get your butt down here or you'll answer to me. Got it? Good."

She disconnected the call and smiled to herself, enjoying the power rush. She glanced at her watch and saw it was almost midnight. Syd was happily watching Jarod so there was no reason for her to go back to the hospital. At least one of them should get some sleep, she reasoned.

She took a quick shower then wandered through the apartment naked, half wishing Jarod was there with her. Her clothes were hung neatly so they wouldn't wrinkle but she hesitated sleeping nude in a strange building. She opened Jarod's bag again, pulled out a tee-shirt and slipped it over her head. The soft cotton reached the mid-point on her thighs and the short sleeves were down to her elbows.

She pulled back the covers on the bed and turned off the light. As she lay her head on the pillow, she caught the lingering scent of Jarod's after-shave all around her. She ran her hands over the shirt she was currently occupying and quickly fell asleep, remembering the last time she was with him.

 

Sydney was lost in thought when the night nurse came in for the hourly check on Jarod. She smiled warmly at him as she went about her work recording vital signs and checking on the IV that was delivering fluids, antibiotics and painkillers to Jarod's system. 

She looked at the monitors then at Jarod and frowned. Gently grasping his right wrist she looked at her watch as she took his pulse. Sydney had noticed the frown and sat up straight in the chair. The nurse released Jarod's wrist and looked at Sydney, mouthing the words, "He's awake."

Sydney nodded and waited for her to leave before he went to Jarod's side.

"Jarod?" Sydney whispered. "Jarod, I know you're awake. Talk to me."

The wait seemed interminable before Jarod opened his uninjured eye and looked at Sydney.

"Why are you here?" He questioned softly.

"Why do you think?"

Jarod looked around the room then back at Sydney.

"Your turn at guard duty while Miss Parker gets her beauty rest?"

"You know that's not true," Sydney admonished gently.

"Then why? I'm not going anywhere. I suppose you already nailed the doctor down to the exact day, hour and minute that they can release me so I can be transferred to the Centre."

Jarod turned his head away from Sydney. His depression hung in the air like morning fog off a lake. 

Sydney struggled for an answer that would satisfy Jarod without sounding like a lie. As it turned out, he didn't have to bother because Jarod had fallen asleep again.

Sydney stood there for a long time while he sorted through his reasons for being there and he kept coming to the same conclusion. He reached out and pulled the blanket higher on Jarod's chest then gently tucked it in around him.

"I'm here," he whispered, "because I love you, just as I loved your mother."

An incessant pounding awoke Miss Parker the next morning. She looked at her watch and groaned. Six-thirty.

"Miss Parker? Are you in there?" A voice called from the hall as the pounding continued. "Hello?"

"I'm going to kill him." she growled, tossing back the covers and striding to the door. She flung it open enjoying the shocked look on Broots' face when he saw her wearing nothing but Jarod's T-shirt.

"Uh....I, uh," he stuttered, pointing behind him. "I can come back." He turned to leave but she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the room, slamming the door.

"How the hell did you get here so fast?" She demanded to know as she lit a cigarette.

Broots dropped his small backpack and grinned, obviously pleased with himself.

"I brought the corporate jet."

Miss Parker removed the cigarette from her mouth and stared at Broots.

"You what?" She asked softly, looking him up and down.

Broots shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat.

"I, uh....brought the corporate jet?" Maybe that hadn't been such a great idea after all.

Parker smiled and slapped Broots on the shoulder. "Good thinking."

Broots nearly wet himself in relief but Miss Parker was already issuing orders.

"That," she began, pointing to the laptop, "is Jarod's. He has it password protected and I want it unlocked. Now."

Broots slid into the chair and gave the computer a quick look before he started playing with potential passwords.

"This would be a lot easier back at the Centre," Broots informed her nervously. "Doing this here I'm just guessing at what he might use."

Miss Parker had grabbed her clothes and came up behind Broots, bending down to whisper in his ear.

"Then you had better - guess - right."

 

Jarod awoke to soft voices at the foot of his bed. He opened his right eye and looked around, spotting Sydney and a doctor deeply engaged in conversation.

"You don't have to whisper," Jarod tried to say, but it came out as a squeak and a cough. He winced at the pain in his chest, but it was much better with drugs and the ribs being taped.

Sydney rushed over and picked up a cup of ice chips that had been recently left by the nurse. He slipped a hand under Jarod's neck and gently raised his head so he could spoon some of the chips into his mouth.

Jarod savored the cold wetness as he let it trickle down his irritated throat and into his empty stomach. Sydney asked if he wanted more and Jarod nodded his head slightly. When he was finished, Sydney let Jarod's head down and placed the cup back on the nightstand.

The doctor had been waiting for Jarod to find his voice before beginning his examination.

"Good morning, Mr. Russell. How are you feeling today?" The doctor inquired pleasantly.

Jarod shot Sydney an annoyed look before turning his attention to the doctor.

"It's Jarod, and I feel a lot better."

The doctor smiled and wrote on the chart as he checked the monitors.

"I bet you do. We have you pumped full of painkillers. I understand that was quite a ride you took yesterday."

Sydney saw a confused look cross Jarod's face.

"Ride? I don't....." Jarod strained, trying to remember what had happened.

"Don't worry about it, Jarod," Sydney told him quickly, laying his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. "It will come back to you."

Jarod certainly hoped so. The last thing he remembered was leaving his apartment and going... somewhere. 

The doctor seemed oblivious to Jarod's lack of memory as he turned his attention to Jarod's physical injuries.

Sydney stepped out of the way as Jarod was poked and prodded. It was unlike Jarod to block out details of an event, even if it was traumatic. Sydney hoped it was due to the head injury and not some psychological problem. He knew Jarod, and he knew the chances of him escaping again were very high. Sydney didn't want him going through life with unresolved issues surrounding  
the holdup with no one around to help him deal with it.

 

When Miss Parker emerged from the bathroom 10 minutes later, Broots had the computer screen filled with useless passwords. He looked up and pointed at the screen in disgust.

"There is no way I'm going to be able to guess what single word he used," Broots told her adamantly. "It could be anything from abracadabra to Zimbabwe."

Miss Parker had been thinking about the password while she showered and came up with something that Jarod might just be warped enough to use.

"Try 'Casper'," she told him as she looked over his shoulder. Broots sighed heavily but keyed in the proper letters. He crossed his fingers and hit enter, then waited for the usual response.

"Damn," he muttered as the screen came up and Jarod's file manager was displayed. He looked up at Miss Parker who had a satisfied smile on her face.

"Lucky guess?" He inquired politely. As expected she ignored him and pointed to a few files she wanted opened. 

They spent the next hour going through dozens of files, mostly of random information that Jarod had accumulated for an unknown, and, Parker guessed, boring reason. She was about to have Broots pack it up and return to Blue Cove when she spotted a file that interested her.

"Open that," she demanded, pointing at the screen.

Broots put the cursor on a file for Tetris and Parker swatted him in the arm.

"Not the game, you idiot, the file under it. Trak-it."

Broots opened what appeared to be the largest file in the system. As he read through the sub-folders, Trak-it took on a whole new meaning."

"I don't suppose you have the DSA's?" He asked, fearing he was going to get hit again.

Parker looked at him oddly. "Why would you ask that?" She looked at the screen that seemed to be filled with directional coordinates.

"Because this file is a tracking device for the case and," he said, pulling the map he had used to find Miss Parker from his back pocket, "according to this, we are here...and the case is...there."

 

Jarod lay with his eyes closed trying to piece together the events of the last 24 hours. He now remembered leaving the apartment and going to the bank where Sandra worked so he could secretly make a deposit into her account. She said good-bye to him and he turned to leave and...he woke up in the hospital.

As he accumulated bits and pieces he had to wonder how Sydney fit into this. Obviously he had been there when Jarod was admitted because the doctor had called him Jarod Russell and he had been using the name Bond for the last month. Miss Parker was nowhere to be seen, but there was no way Sydney would be there without his shadow. Maybe they had spotted him as he left the bank and Miss Parker had run him over with her car.

No. The doctor had said something about a ride. Maybe he was in a car accident. But he hadn't driven to the bank. Jarod again considered asking Sydney, but he was so certain that he wouldn't get the whole story that he decided to wait and see if he remembered on his own.

 

Miss Parker and Broots sat in her car across the street from a sleazy bar with and even sleazier 'hotel' over it on the upper three floors.

"You're sure this is where they are?" She asked, certain he was right, but praying he was off by about ten blocks. Just enough to get them out of this neighborhood.

Broots looked at the map and coordinates he had retrieved from Jarod's computer and nodded his head.

"This is the place. I'll wait here while you go get the case."

Miss Parker glared at him out of the corner of her eye. "What do you want me to do? Go in and shoot the place up until I get what I want?"

Broots looked at her with wide eyes and an astonished look on his face.

"Well, yeah. I kind ‘a thought that's what you were going to do. It seems to work for you," he added, meaning it as a compliment.

"These guys threw Jarod out of a moving vehicle. They're not your average thugs that can be intimidated."

Broots was confused. He thought everyone was intimidated by Miss Parker. That's just the way things were. He wanted to ask another question but she seemed deep in thought so he waited.

"Let's go back," she finally said.

"Back? We drove 30 miles just to look at the building?"

Miss Parker grudgingly explained to him what she had planned and he suddenly found himself agreeing to stay in the area and help her. After all, it wasn't everyday he got to pretend to be someone else.

It was late in the afternoon before Broots and Miss Parker had gathered everything they needed for her plan then they headed off to the hospital to see how Jarod was doing.

"Remember," she warned Broots before opening the door to Jarod's room. "Not one word about DSA's or Jarod's computer or the plan. Got it?"

"Got it, "Broots agreed. He grabbed her arm as she started to open the door. "Wait. How am I going to explain my being here?"

Parker gave him an annoyed look. "It's not a secret that you and Jarod are friends, Broots. And as long as you aren't the one who's been helping him escape, nobody outside the four of us will ever know."

She pushed open the door and entered the room, letting it swing back and knock into Broots who was still reeling from her words. He had a pretty good idea that Sydney knew he was Jarod's friend, but the fact that Miss Parker knew and could tell her father at any time.... Well, that was just more information than he needed to know right now. 

Broots stepped into the room and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Jarod. "Holy shit!"

Jarod managed a smile and looked to his right where Sydney sat in the chair. "You said I didn't look that bad," he said, trying to sound hurt.

Broots looked quickly between Miss Parker and Sydney to see if he was in trouble, but they were both smiling.

"No, you look great," Broots blurted out. "Well, not great, but...well you, uh...." he looked around for help getting his foot out of his mouth.

Sydney tried to help. "The doctor said Jarod looked like crap."

"That's it," Broots agreed quickly. "Crap."

"It's nice to have friends," Jarod commented dryly as he tried to shift his weight to get comfortable. He clenched his teeth and grimaced as a sharp pain ripped through his broken arm. He lay still for a moment before looking up to see he was surrounded by three anxious faces.

"Don't worry," he told them. "I may not be in great shape when you haul me back to the Centre, but you can sure get me to cooperate if you whack on this cast with a stick."

He had meant it as a joke but Sydney was clearly upset.

"You know I'd never let them hurt you!" He blurted out.   
Broots and Miss Parker shifted uncomfortably when Jarod responded knowingly, "You already did."

Sydney turned and left the room and Miss Parker followed him out. Jarod watched them go and sighed heavily.

"I shouldn't have said that," Jarod mumbled, not believing those words had come from him.

"Why not? It's the truth," Broots reasoned.

Jarod absentmindedly played with a loose string on his blanket. "He's been worried about me. He should be worried about himself."

"Why?" Broots asked suspiciously, not really wanting an answer.

Jarod looked up and smiled secretively. "Because I have no plans on going back to the Centre."

"I don't think I want to hear this," Broots groaned, wishing he had stayed in Blue Cove.

"Okay, I'll make you a deal," Jarod bargained. "I won't tell you about my escape plan, if you'll tell me what you know about what happened. Why am I here?"

"You don't know?" Broots asked incredulously. Sometimes the Centre took secrets just a little too far.

Jarod shook his head slightly. "I can't remember anything after I went to the bank. Sydney wants me to remember on my own, but I need to know now."

"Well, he probably knows best ..." Broots admitted, then stopped as he looked at Jarod lying there all bruised and broken. 

Broots looked around to make sure Sydney had really left then lowered his voice, leaning closer to the bed.

"I don't know details. All I know is there was a robbery and you traded places with a woman hostage. There was a car chase and they tried to slow down the cops by pushing their hostage out of the car."

"Me?" Jarod asked, pointing to himself. "They pushed me out of a moving vehicle? I'd be dead."

"You almost were," Broots agreed, getting a little excited with the story. "You landed on a grassy riverbank then went into the water. You almost drowned. When they pulled you out you were technically dead." 

He hesitated and Jarod picked it up immediately. “There's something else. What is it?"

Broots wished he hadn't started down this road.

"Jarod, uh, Sydney was one of the two people who performed CPR and saved your life."

 

Jarod expected Sydney to come back when Broots left, but after an hour there was still no sign of him. He asked several nurses who came in to check on him, but they were surprised Sydney had left at all.

So, Jarod spent the evening thinking about what Broots had divulged about the robbery. Jarod was still having a hard time remembering anything after arriving at the bank. He didn't remember anything about a woman hostage or taking her place. Of course, had there been a hostage and had it been a woman, there was no doubt in Jarod's mind that he would have taken her place. He was still thinking about that when he fell asleep, courtesy of the wonderful yellow pills the nurse had given him.

 

It was late the next morning when Sydney opened the door to Jarod's room to find him sitting on the side of the bed while the doctor removed the bandages from his head and face.

"You're just in time," the doctor greeted him cheerfully. "Jarod's finally going to get a good look at this wonderful room."

Jarod avoided eye contact with Sydney and started to fidget until the doctor told him to sit still. The bandages were unwound, leaving just a gauze pad over Jarod's eye and cheek.

The doctor turned on a small reading lamp beside the bed and had Sydney turn off the overhead lights. He carefully began removing the gauze and Sydney found himself anxiously stepping closer.

"Now, keep your eye closed until I tell you to open it," the doctor instructed Jarod as he began to peel back the gauze pad.

Jarod felt cool air hit raw skin that had been covered for days and was amazed at the sense of freedom he felt just getting rid of the bandage. He sat still while the doctor bathed the area in warm water then gently patted it dry.

"All right, Jarod. Go ahead and open it."

Jarod slowly opened his left eye, letting it adjust to the dim light in the room. He blinked a few times and looked around, but it was still hard to see.

"It's very blurry," Jarod mentioned hesitantly.

"Give it a minute," the doctor cautioned.

Jarod fought the urge to reach up and rub his eye, but he had already been warned against that. He blinked a few more times, then the room came into focus.

Jarod looked at Sydney and smiled. "Hi, Syd. It's nice to see you again."

The double meaning was not lost on Sydney and he felt the tension he had been carrying around leave him.

 

Broots wiped his sweaty palms on the seat of his pants as he waited for Miss Parker to get out of the car. He had been nauseous all morning and the long drive had done nothing to settle his stomach.

He looked across the street at the bar and rubbed his hand over the itchy stubble on his face. Miss Parker thought a few day's growth of beard made him look less like a computer geek and more like an everyday guy, but Broots just felt like a grubby geek.

Miss Parker slid out of the car and adjusted her halter top and the gaudy necklace she wore. Broots still couldn't believe they made shorts that were THAT short, but the fact that Miss Parker was wearing them left no doubt. Actually, it also left nothing to the imagination. The exaggerated makeup, big hair and stiletto heels added to the total picture. Broots wished Jarod and Sydney were here to see this. Nobody was ever going to believe what Miss Parker was doing to get that case back.

She slung a small purse over her shoulder and popped a piece of gum in her mouth before looking at Broots.

"Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be Miss P," Broots admitted.

She gave him a disgusted look.

"Don't call me that, you moron. Call me....." she almost said her own name, but caught herself as Broots listened expectantly.

"Call me.........Vanna."

"Okay, Vanna, "Broots agreed easily. "And you can call me Lance."

"Lance?" She asked, not even trying to hold back a laugh.

"If you can be a Vanna then I can be a Lance," he argued.

His own name didn't exactly fit the situation and there was no reason he couldn't pretend his name was Lance as long as he was probably going to be killed in the next few minutes anyway.

The duo crossed the street and strolled into the bar. The smell of liquor, smoke and unwashed bodies hung in the air like a dank cloud and Broots found himself trying not to breathe.

Parker looked around, searching for the men that she saw walk Jarod with out of the bank at gun point. She was especially interested in the short one that was in the back of the car. He was the one that had tried to kill Jarod and he was also the last person she had seen with the DSA's.

She strutted up to the bar, Broots hot on her heels, and ordered a beer. The bartender stared at her for a minute then turned to get the drink when she glared at him.

Broots sat down on a bar stool and tried to look like he belonged in a place like this, but any confidence he previously had was failing him fast. If it wasn't for Miss Parker calmly gulping down her beer, he would have turned and run, never looking back.

Parker set the empty mug down loudly on the bar and made a show of wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She leaned back against the bar and surveyed the room, looking for her targets.

In the far corner, Carter had watched as a gorgeous woman and her geeky friend entered the bar. He looked her over while she downed her drink and leaned back on the bar, her bare, creamy midriff calling to him. He could feel her hot skin from here and as he undressed her with his eyes, he saw many possibilities stretching out before him.

Parker could feel the man watching her before she actually saw him. She casually turned in his direction and caught his eye. She could almost see him salivating as he pushed back his chair and smiled at her invitingly.

She pushed herself away from the bar with her back, making her breasts strain against the tight fabric and headed across the room. She heard Broots start to follow and called over her shoulder.

"Stay, Lance."

Parker moved slowly and seductively across the room and stopped in front of Carter.

"Hi."

"Well hello there, sweet thing. I know I haven't seen you here before."

"I haven't been here before. We were just passing through," she jerked her head back towards Broots.

Carter leaned slightly to the right and looked at Broots who appeared to be sulking at the bar.

"Your boyfriend doesn't look too happy," Carter observed.

"That's his problem. He knows the rules."

"Rules?" Carter asked, wondering what he was getting himself in to.

"If he can't keep me happy...I can go in search of greener pastures," she told him softly as she let her eyes wander down his body.

"And he goes along with that?"

"As long as he gets to watch," she whispered suggestively.

Carters mind went into overdrive at the thought of having her while her boyfriend watched. He suddenly had a better idea.

"I, uh, have a friend..." he began hesitantly.

Parker smiled and slid onto his lap, running a finger down his cheek and around his lips.

"I was hoping you were going to say that."

 

Broots kept an eye on Miss Parker by watching her reflection in the mirror behind the bar. She seemed to be deep in conversation then suddenly sat in the guy’s lap. Broots almost choked on his drink when he saw her let the guy run his hands over her chest. A moment later they walked toward Broots, both of them smiling.

Oh, but Broots recognized that smile on her face. As he rose to join them he looked at the man and mumbled to himself, "Dead man walking."

 

Sydney stood back out of the way as Jarod was finally disconnected from the monitors and IV. He couldn't believe it was only four days ago that he fought to breathe life back into Jarod and now he was only two days away from helping to imprison him for the rest of his life. Sydney wondered if he had done Jarod a favor or cursed him with the worst of luck.

The nurse left and Jarod sat on the edge of the bed fumbling with the buttons on the blue pajama top that matched the bottoms he was wearing. Sydney stepped forward to help and Jarod spoke without looking up.

"Don't. I have it."

Sydney stopped and watched as Jarod painstakingly undid each button then went about trying to get his cast into the short sleeve. Sydney understood Jarod's need to do this on his own, but he could see where the shirt was being held up on the cast and it was driving him crazy. Jarod gave the shirt another tug and Sydney reached out and took it away from him.

"I said I could do it," Jarod told him irritably.

Sydney ignored him and turned the shirt around the right way and easily slid it over the cast.

"You can ask for help, Jarod," Sydney admonished gently. "You don't need to be a hero."

He pulled the shirt around and pushed Jarod's other arm through the remaining sleeve. He was buttoning the front when he noticed a pained look on Jarod's face.

"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" Sydney asked, cursing himself for being so careless.

Jarod didn't respond and Sydney repeated the question. Jarod stared past him with a distant look in his eyes as Sydney began to worry.

"Jarod?"

Sydney snapped his fingers loudly in Jarod's face and was rewarded when Jarod blinked and dragged himself back from wherever he had been.

"What's wrong?"

"I remember," Jarod mumbled, his eyes darting around the room but obviously seeing another place and time.

"Remember what?" Sydney asked anxiously. He thought he had more time, that his wouldn't happen until they were back at the Centre.

"Everything. The robbery, Sandra and the baby, the car chase...." his voice dwindled off as he remembered again being pushed from the car. Trying to land past the gravel shoulder and into the grass, the impact, the sound of snapping bone. The water.

"I drowned, Sydney," Jarod told him, fear in his voice. "I couldn't turn over in the water and I drowned!"

Jarod was becoming increasingly agitated as the memories came flooding back. This was exactly what Sydney had been afraid of. Jarod had not only remembered, but was unconsciously using his pretender skills to relive the event in stunning detail.

Jarod was deep in the terror of knowing he had to get out of the car when he felt the prick of a needle in his arm. He was reliving hitting the ground when he felt a warm calmness start to creep over him and the images of the car and river started to fade away. He felt himself being laid back on the bed and heard Sydney telling him he was going to be all right.

Sydney sighed in relief as the sedative kicked in and Jarod drifted off to sleep. The doctor checked Jarod's vitals then looked at Sydney.

"Maybe you should rethink having him travel so soon, Dr. Green. This may happen again when he wakes up."

Sydney shook his head. "No. If this happens again I want Jarod at home where he's safe."

 

Broots tried to ignore the little giggles coming from Miss Parker as she and Carter snuggled together in the corner of the dirty elevator. He tapped his foot and wondered if the ride to the third floor was really taking an abnormally long time or if it just felt like it.

When the doors finally opened, Broots was the first one off. He stepped aside as Parker and Carter came out with their arms around each other and Carter guided her down the hall to the last room.

He knocked twice on the door, paused then knocked again. He nibbled on Parkers neck as the sound of a security chain and dead-bolt was heard from inside the room. The door opened a crack and the man that Jarod had called Shorty peeked through the opening at the trio.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked Carter, opening the door to let his partner in.

Carter laughed as he pulled ‘Vanna’ into the room and Broots followed, closing the door behind them.

"I brought a little present for you, partner." He turned to Parker and winked. "I'll be right back."

Carter took Shorty by the arm and led him across the room, whispering in his ear as they went. Shorty looked back a few times and smiled, nodding his head.

Broots looked around the room and spotted the DSA case under a chair in the corner. He cleared his throat to get Parkers attention then casually looked that way when she turned. He saw her eyes light up and she reached into her purse and pulled out two pair of handcuffs.

"I hope you boys are into bondage," she called out, dangling the cuffs from one finger. By the expressions on their faces, she guessed the answer was yes.

Miss Parker smiled and giggled at the two men then kicked off her shoes.

"Lance," she said, looking at Broots. "Go over there and sit down."

Broots pretended to sulk and casually sat in the chair over the DSA's.

"And you two," she continued, advancing toward Carter and Shorty, "I want to see some skin."

Broots watched, amused, as the two men nearly killed themselves getting out of their clothes. When they both stood there naked, with silly grins on their faces, Miss Parker tossed them one set of cuffs.

"Let's see," she began, undoing the top button on her shorts. "I think the two of you cuffed together would be a nice place to start."

Their eyes were on her next button as Shorty quickly snapped one cuff over his left wrist and the other side on Carters' right. Miss Parker undid a few more buttons and they could see the hot pink, silky panties she wore under her shorts. She put her hands on the waist of the shorts as if to pull them off then looked at the two men.

"You know what would make me really, really hot?" she asked in a little girls voice. Both men shook their heads vigorously.

"I would love to see you together on the bed."

The words were barely out of her mouth before both men were flat on their backs on the double bed. She tossed the second pair of cuffs to Carter and smiled coyly as she gestured to the heavy, brass headboard. He didn't need any further encouragement to put the cuffs on his free wrist and snap the other side securely to the metal.

As the men waited for her to remove her clothes and join them, they watched in amazement as she re-buttoned her shorts and put her shoes back on.

"What are you doing?" Carter yelled, trying to get back off the bed.

"Well, I'm looking at two morons that like to take things that don't belong to them," she explained as Broots came up beside her with the DSA's in hand. 

She and Broots stepped back as the two men made it off the bed and tried to reach them. Shorty still had one hand free and was looking for something to throw while Carter tried unsuccessfully to move the bed.

Miss Parker picked up the phone by the door and dialed the local police, letting them know where they could pick up the men who robbed the bank in the next town.

"Why are you doing this, you bitch?" Carter roared as he struggled to yank his arm free of the headboard.

Broots smiled when he heard her answer.

"Next time you try to kill someone, make sure he doesn't have bad tempered friends."

 

It was late when Broots and Miss Parker arrived back at the hospital. They expected to find Jarod asleep but he was sitting up in bed talking to Sydney.

"Where have you two been?" Sydney asked.

Broots opened his mouth to speak but Miss Parker shoved an elbow into his stomach.

"We just had something to pick up," she answered secretively, thinking of the DSA's, safely retrieved and waiting back at Jarod's lair for the return trip home.

"Speaking of pick up," she continued, looking at Jarod. "I understand that we have a nice, well trained sweeper team on the way to pick you up tomorrow."

Sydney glared at her as Broots shifted uncomfortably. Jarod, however, just smiled at her.

"Can't wait to see Sam again," he replied. "That is if he's still working for the Centre after that little embezzling problem he had."

Miss Parker almost smiled at that. The Tower knew Jarod was behind the money that had appeared in Sam's account but had made the man sweat it out to teach him a lesson about security.

"Don't worry about Sam. I hear he's really looking forward to seeing you," she told Jarod. She looked at her watch and saw it was nearly midnight.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping, Jarod? We have a long trip tomorrow."

"Jarod has remembered the robbery," Sydney told her, trying to shut her up. "We were just discussing it."

Sydney had been worried that when Jarod awoke he was going to become agitated again, but he appeared to have stopped re-enacting the events and instead just chose to remember them in a normal manner.

Miss Parker wondered if Jarod also remembered that the DSA's had been in the car with him, but didn't want to bring up the subject.

"Well," she began, pulling up a chair, "why don't you tell us all about it. We have all night."

"You're staying?" Jarod asked, mildly surprised.

She looked at him knowingly.

"You're going back tomorrow. There is no way I'm letting you out of my sight until that sweeper team shows up."

Jarod looked down at his battered body and the cast on his arm.

"You give me a lot of credit," he told her.

She smiled when she replied, "You're damn right I do."

 

It was early the next morning when an orderly came in with a wheelchair and found sleeping bodies sprawled around the room. He cleared his throat loudly and was rewarded with all four people opening their eyes and looking at him.

"Good morning," he greeted everyone. "Sorry to wake you but Dr. Sandy said you were taking the patient home this morning and I have to take him for a quick set of follow-up x-rays first."

"Who the hell is Dr. Sandy?" Miss Parker asked groggily.

"Dr. Kendall's assistant," the man replied as he rolled the wheelchair up to the bed. He pulled back the blankets and smiled at Jarod.

"Don't worry, this won't take long then you'll be on your way."

"Gee, thanks," Jarod muttered as he eased out of bed and into the chair.

The orderly swung the chair around and headed out the door and Miss Parker started to follow.

"Sorry. The x-ray lab is off limits. You'll have to wait here."

"I'm not letting him out of my sight," she told the man in no uncertain terms. 

He hesitated for a moment then shrugged his shoulders.

"You can come as far as the lab, but you can't go in," he agreed as the three of them headed down the hall.

Miss Parker was making all kinds of plans of things to do once Jarod was back in his hole at the Centre. The first thing she planned was a long vacation, someplace she hadn't had to chase Jarod. Then, she was going to continue her investigation into her mother's death and nail Raines to the wall. 

In the back of her mind, she hoped Jarod would be willing to help her with that, but it would probably take a while for him to settle into a normal routine again. Well, she had waited this long, a few more months wouldn't matter.

After a short elevator ride they emerged onto the first floor and Miss Parker followed the orderly down a long hall to a door labeled 'X-Ray Lab'. There was a chair outside the door and he told her to wait there and he'd bring Jarod back out in about 20 minutes. She took a seat and continued making her plans for life after the Centre as the orderly opened the door and pushed Jarod into the room.

 

Jarod looked around what looked like a locker room and smiled as the orderly very quietly locked the door between them and Miss Parker.

"You should change professions, Todd," Jarod told his friend.

Todd smiled and opened a locker.

"Glad I could help, Jarod. You know I'd do anything for you after the way you saved my wife and baby."

"How is Sandra?" Jarod asked curiously. He hoped the stress hadn't harmed her in any way.

Todd stopped and reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a Polaroid of his wife and son.

"Ten-thirty last night. Six pounds even," he told Jarod proudly as he handed over the picture. "We hope you don't mind, but we named him after you."

Todd waited anxiously as Jarod stared at the picture. When he looked up there was a tear in his eye.

"Mind? I've never been so honored," he told his friend. "Thank you."

Todd pulled a bundle of clothes from the locker.

"No," he responded. "Thank you. For my wife and son, for saving my job and, I'm guessing, for that money that mysteriously showed up in our account the other day. We're going to pay you back."

Jarod shrugged out of his pajama top and took a shirt from Todd.

"You're paying me back now, and you'll never know how much I appreciate it."

It only took a few minutes for them to get Jarod changed then they quietly made their way out the back door of the locker room and into a cab.

 

Miss Parker looked at her watch and then at the closed door. It had been 30 minutes and Jarod was still in there. She was tapping her foot nervously when a nurse came up and looked at the door.

"Who put that sign on the door to the locker room?" She asked.

Miss Parker looked at the nurse then at the door before jumping to her feet.

"Locker room?" She pushed on the door and found it locked.

"Damn!" she yelled, kicking the door. "Is there another way out of there?"

"Well, yeah," the nurse replied, a little scared by Miss Parkers' obvious anger. "There's a back door that leads to the parking lot. That's how we normally come and go to work."

The nurse jumped back as Parker screamed and ran down the hall.

Sydney and Broots were still waiting in Jarod's room when they got a call from Miss Parker on her cell phone telling them Jarod had escaped and to meet her at his lair.

The two men grabbed a taxi and pulled up in front of the apartment building as Miss Parker was coming out. They could see the rage emanating from her as they stepped hesitantly from the cab.

"He's gone!" She yelled as she swung around and kicked a garbage can. "His clothes are gone, his computer and the DSA's! GONE!"

Sydney was confused.

"The DSA's? I thought the robbers took them."

Miss Parker was wandering around the front of the building kicking everything in sight so Broots briefly explained to Sydney how they had just yesterday retrieved the DSA's and had the two men arrested.

Sydney was quiet as he tried to picture the events that Broots had described. When Miss Parker ran out of things to kick the three of them got in her car and headed to the airport to meet the sweeper team that was supposed to have escorted Jarod home. They would cover the area for a day or so, but they all knew Jarod had already slipped through their fingers.

 

Rocky Point, Mexico  
Two Weeks Later

Jarod lay back on his beach blanket and let the tropical sun soothe his body. He was still a little sore, but except for the cast and a few lingering bruises he was doing great. His escape had gone off without a hitch. He didn't know what he would have done without Todd's help.

It turned out to be a good thing when he had accidentally insulted Sydney causing him to leave Jarod unguarded all night. One quick phone call was all it took.

He was still disappointed he didn't have a chance to grill Sydney about his past, but if his plans worked out the way he hoped, all his questions would be answered soon.

Jarod smiled, pleased with himself and closed his eyes, picturing a happy family safe at home in Iowa and Miss Parker stomping around the Centre in Delaware.


End file.
